Ann McKay

The Board Meeting Agenda for our very small non-profit organization is normally distributed to Board members and several town Councillors prior to each Board Meeting. As the very new Secretary for this organization, I have been asked to place two Agenda items in the "In Camera" section of the Agenda. This is the first time I have been asked to do this. When these topics come up for discussion, the Councillors will be excused from the meeting. However, the description of the In Camera items on the Agenda is almost a giveaway as to what the discussion will be about. Can I send the proposed Agenda to the Councillors without including the In Camera items? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Mr. Merritt, Mr. Brown and Mr. Novosielski, Thank you very much for that information; it's always an education to visit this forum, and your generosity in sharing your knowledge and experience is much appreciated.

I'm so grateful to have access to this excellent forum. I'm the new Recording Secretary for a small non-profit organization, and my experience is pretty much zip in this voluntary role. In the past, the Draft Board Meeting Minutes were distributed to Board members following a meeting, as well as to two city councillors who attend the Board meetings as representatives/liaisons. These councillors often weigh in on discussions and their remarks are recorded. The new president of our little non-profit organization does not think the city councillors should see the Minutes until after they are approved by the Board at the following meeting, when the Minutes are then official documents. Could anyone shine some light on what the proper protocol should be? Is anyone other than Board Members allowed to review draft Minutes?

Hello - I'm a brand new Recording Secretary for a small non-profit society, and my experience in this area is virtually nil. I have a question about adding information to draft minutes of a meeting. At the last Board meeting, one of the agenda items was not addressed, as the Board member with the information needed was unable to attend the meeting. A few days later, this Board member sent out a memo to other Board members containing the information he had planned to present. I've been asked to incorporate this memo into the draft Minutes, saying something along the lines, "Board Member so-and-so was unable to attend the meeting, but sent a memo to other Board Members on such-and-such a date which contains the information he was unable to present." I've been told on one hand that this is all right, and other advice I've received said no, since the Board Member wasn't at the meeting and didn't actually present the information (which likely would have raised some questions from other Board members for further information.) Should this item be carried forward to the next Board meeting as an agenda item and addressed then? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.